Dear Extra Credit: There has been one oversight in almost all the letters I've read concerning the debate over honors vs. Advanced Placement in Fairfax County. Rarely mentioned is that AP classes ...

IB elementary classes differ from the ordinary in several ways. Subjects as varied as economics and nonfiction writing can be taught in a single IB class.

AP and IB courses are college-level classes offered in high school with the option of taking an exam to earn college credit at a fraction of the cost. An AP exam costs $97 and an IB exam costs ...

Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes are great opportunities for students who are looking to earn college credit while still in high school. While IB classes attract a ...

Within IB, students were isolated from the rest of the school and received disproportionately more resources. IB or pre-IB students took honors, AP, or IB classes taught by another group of teachers.

The merged classes prevent the students from being further prepared for the advanced placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program classes, they said.

IB students who are currently enrolled in these four math classes are the last cohort to take them. In the coming academic years, four new math courses will be offered, instead.

The school also will open up access to its International Baccalaureate classes, which can be used for college credit.

Salem-Keizer ended traditional honors classes to promote equity and access. Almost two years in, the community is divided on its success.

However, compared to AP or IB courses, “there is not comparably robust data on student enrollment and success in dual enrollment or college credit bearing courses,” rhe spokeswoman wrote.